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The Claws of Friendship
Time: about 6 years later, in the forests of Outer Island. J’nee crept through the branches of a tree, somewhere her thumbs came in very handy. Her eyes did not stray from her quarry, a fairly young Iguanodon ahead and below. She moved with a stealth born of long practice. The iguanodon was unaware of her presence. When she figured she was close enough, she struck. With as accurate a Raptor Skwee! She could get, she leaped, landing on the iguanodon’s back. As it shied, she wrapped her arms around its neck and held on tight, avoiding the thumb-spikes as the iguanodon spun in a panic. Its whole attention was focused on trying to get J’nee off its back. Her whole attention was focused on staying aboard, to distract it from noticing J’nee’s two nestmates till they attacked. They did so, and it was quickly over. J’nee and the nestmate called Leccru bent to feed, while her other nestmate, Wareela, kept watch for any larger predator that might wish to try and steal their kill. Leccru’s teeth were far more effective at tearing flesh from the kill, and she finished while J’nee was still on her second mouthful. Leccru stood to keep watch, which allowed Wareela to feed. J’nee tried to hurry, aware that her slowness irritated Leccru. She decided when Wareela had finished eating, that she’d had enough for now, and could finish at the nestsite. She communicated her willingness to move on with an odd croak, then pointing at first the kill, then in the direction of their mother’s nest. J’nee had learned as much of the Raptor language as she could, and could understand it without any problem. Speaking it was a different matter. There were certain differences between the human and Raptor throat that made some of the sounds a raptor made totally impossible for a human to reproduce. Even the way the pack pronounced her name-the “ee” with a deafening squeal-was different to hers. The last time she’d tried to reproduce that sound, half of the pack had thought that she was crying out in pain. So where her voice failed her, J’nee used hand gestures that were simple enough to understand. The three nestmates took hold of the kill, J’nee with her hands, Wareela and Leccru using claws and teeth. With the three of them all helping, the kill was quite quickly taken to the nesting area. The nest site was fairly close, and their mother-and two other females-had hatchlings who needed the food. They deposited the food by the side of the nest area, and tore off chunks, taking meat to the hungry mothers and ravening hatchlings. Once they had fed, J’nee found some meat it was easier to chew off, and finished her interrupted meal. There was still a little left when other members of the pack turned up. What was not wanted was taken by the three nestmates at the end of the day, to a site some distance from the nesting area. They did not want any other carnivore drawn to the nest site. J’nee spotted a fruit tree on their way back, and stopped to pick and eat some. Neither Wareela nor Leccru wished to eat the fruit, but Wareela had patience for J’nee’s human foibles. Wareela was quite willing to let J’nee ride her if she was very tired or had hurt her leg. Leccru refused to even consider carrying her. It was Leccru who now snorted in disgust and said they were wasting time. J’nee bit into the succulent mango she’d found, tearing off the skin with her teeth and biting the juicy, fibrous flesh off the stone. Juice dripped onto her body, and made her sticky, so she found a little stream nearby to wash the unpleasant stickiness off. She looked at the disgruntled Leccru, and asked Wareela to come with her, because she wanted to explore. Wareela was slightly smaller than Leccru, and had darker thinner stripes on her hide. J’nee, for her own part, tried to blend in as much as she could with the rest of the pack. However, she was constantly aware that she was different, and at such times she often went off for a few days to think. Wareela recognized this, told Leccru she’d go with J’nee, and asked Leccru to inform the rest of the pack. Leccru gave an exasperated snort, cast a disdainful look at her adopted human sister, and moved off. Stopping only to pick some mangos, J’nee struck out with Wareela at her side. The Pack were now used to and accepted J’nees wanderings, but when she first went, with Wareela, there had been concern. “She is not of us, and has no sense of smell to speak of. What if she runs into some of the bigger predators? “She was in no danger. She knows to look for other warning signs. I was also with her, and my sense of smell is as good as any other’s.” Wareela had said. “When she wants to explore, I will go with her.” The pack had agreed, and J’nee’s explorations were infrequent, and tolerated. J’nee and Wareela had different active times. Both were wide awake for the first part of the night, but by early morning, J’nee would sleep, and when in an exploratory mood, her sleep time was around four or five hours. Wareela would keep watch till she woke. When she woke, Wareela was usually sleepy, and would sleep for about four hours, and J’nee would keep watch. When she woke, they hunted small prey, ate, and continued their journey. After the first two days, Wareekla realized they had made very good time, and gone further than before. Typically, J’nee would explore in a big circle, which would soon bring them, in a few days, back to the pack. This time, she was going straight. Wareela mentioned this to J’nee. “I want to explore, but I promise we’ll turn back and go back to the pack tonight. But I want to go further today.” Wareela, knowing J’nee when she was in this mood, acquiesced. She’d got a promise to turn back come nightfall, and Wareela knew J’nee could be trusted to keep it. It was towards the end of that day that it happened. They were pressing forward, and saw the trees thinning out. Pushing on, they found themselves at the edge of the forest. A little cry made them turn. They saw two upright figures, a Corythosaurus, and a Triceratops. J’nee realized that the two non-saurians resembled her in shape and form. She tried to approach, Wareela warily staying by her side. However, the two non-saurians backed off, and the Corythosaurus and Triceratops made sounds of warning, falling into defensive positions between J’nee and Wareela, and the two non-saurians. Wareela told J’nee she could smell fear from all four, and J’nee realized the futility of pursuing. She did not want to scare them. Now might be a good time to turn back, as night was not far away. Reluctantly, J’nee signed to Wareela to turn and start going back. They turned and melted back into the forest. They made good time that night, as J’nee did not get sleepy so early that night, and woke earlier than usual. J’nee could not put the non-saurians out of her mind. She realized they resembled her, and she knew she’d finally found people who were like her, and she wanted to find out more.
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